I LOVE my job as your Westminster representative, but it is often unpredictable, and especially during the last month when we have seen the triggering of Article 50, the dreadful and senseless attack on Parliament that cost innocent lives and finally the calling of the snap General Election for June 8th – an election that is absolutely in the best interests of our country and will help enormously with the Brexit timetable.

According to those already involved in discussions with Europe there was growing unease about the convergence of the end of the Article 50 negotiations and the run-up to the next election, and a view that this could force us into hasty decisions or compress the time needed for a sensible Brexit implementation plan. With an election now and then a five-year Parliament to run until 2022, those hurdles are cleared away, while a new mandate for Prime Minister May can only help to deliver the strong and stable leadership the country needs to see us through Brexit and beyond.

Every vote for my party will count towards strengthening Britain’s hand in the upcoming negotiations and, unlike Gordon “Bottler” Brown who famously ducked an election in 2007, we are not afraid to face the country and give people a choice at this momentous time. The choice between strong and stable leadership in the national interest with Theresa May and the Conservatives, or weak and unstable coalition government led by Jeremy Corbyn – a prospect so unpalatable that even his own MPs don’t want him to be the Prime Minister!

So, the whistle is blown, the sun is shining, the covers are coming off Alice, my VW camper van who will do sterling service again as my battle bus, and I am greatly looking forward to hitting the campaign trail for the third time.

I’m looking forward to meeting up with as many constituents as possible over the next few weeks.